Shaquita Smith is the Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator for the School District of Philadelphia. As the Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator, Shaquita works tirelessly to bring social studies and civics to life for the city’s students of all ages through partnerships, innovative lessons, and support for teachers. This includes telling the stories of black and brown people in Philadelphia’s history. Much of her work centers around creating equity for her middle school students, who attend neighborhood schools. Shaquita does her best to provide the kind of support and programming that will put them on the same level as special admit schools as well as give them resources to apply and be accepted into special admit high schools. She feels that her students are some of the best and brightest, but they often don’t have the same opportunities because of their circumstances. Recently she has been helping students understand their voting rights and coordinated a voter registration conference. “Integrity means being stand-up all the time. It means that you are the same person with one group that you are with another. Even if it’s not in your personal interest – you’re always going to do what’s right.”
